World number two Carlos Alcaraz defended his Madrid open title with a hard-fought 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win over Jan-lennard Struff on Sunday.
The us open champion earned his 10th career title and can reclaim the world’s top ranking from Novak Djokovic simply by playing a single match at the Rome masters next week, before the French open.
Alcaraz continued his roland garros build-up by adding the madrid trophy to victories in barcelona, buenos aires and indian wells this year, although he was below his vibrant best against lucky loser struff, the world number 65.
The 20-year-old was given a tricky time by his German opponent but eventually became the youngest player since Rafael Nadal in 2006 to defend an ATP masters 1000 title.
Read Also: Murray wins in France, Sabalenka Reaches Madrid Final
Also, world number two Aryna Sabalenka played a superb attacking game to beat top ranked Iga Swiatek 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 and win the Madrid open for the second time on Saturday.
The big-hitting Belarusian gained revenge for defeat by her polish rival in the Stuttgart final a fortnight ago with a thrilling triumph to end Swiatek’s nine-match winning streak ahead of her French open defence.
Two-time roland garros winner swiatek fought her way back into the match after an explosive start by sabalenka, but the second seed came back strongly in the third set to win the first wta 1000 final featuring the top two ranked players since 2014.
Sabalenka earned her 13th career title, and only her second on clay in two hours and 25 minutes, clinching victory on her fourth championship point with a forehand cross-court winner.
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